THRILL Quintet: Hopeless
by Lady Monozuki
Summary: Everything is against him. He never imagined the day where he would be alone, trying to prove himself on a different level. What he doesn't know is that someone is trying to help. So why does help hurt so much? Eventual Thrill. Sequel to Trial
1. Chapter One: Shattered

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis**

Lady Monozuki: I apologize for not getting this out sooner. Personal problems got in the way of my writing. I apologize.

Series dedicated to: ryoka-chan

_Chapter One: Shattered_

Ryoma almost dropped the phone for the second time that evening. He wasn't sure if he had just heard Tezuka right. His hand started to shake. The voice in his mind was screaming at him, telling him that it was true. No, he did not want to believe it. There had to be some mistake.

"W-What did you say?" Ryoma asked. His voice sounded strange, even to him.

He heard a sigh on the other line. "You heard me, Ryoma. I want to break up."

He could feel the tears starting to sting his eyes. No, this was not happening to him! He needed Kunimitsu by his side during this! It was hard enough to endure the harassment on his own. This was not real, this was not happening.

"Kunimitsu! You can't mean that!" Ryoma said. He couldn't believe this was happening. His mind _refused_ to believe anything that was taking place at this moment.

_Why does he want to throw away our relationship? Is this because I'm in jail? Is it because I couldn't prevent those guys from harassing me?_

"I do," his boyfriend said. "I've got to go. Good-bye, _Echizen_."

He faintly registered the sound of a faint _click_ and the tone dial buzzing in his ears. His body had frozen in place. Had the conversation really just played out like that? Did Kunimi-Tezuka really say those words to him? Ryoma hung up the phone and waited to be taken back to his cell. He played the conversation over in his head again to try and make sense of it. He barely heard the guard shout at him to move. His body automatically responded. He heard the cell door close behind him, but didn't care. All he could think about was what his boyfriend—

"Ex-boyfriend," he muttered. He did not want to believe that it was true. Yet Kunimitsu had said it with such a tone of finality, sort of like when he was instructing the tennis team.

_I don't understand._

He could feel his body shaking as he fought to hold back tears. There was no way that his boyfriend would break up because of this. What had really changed? He didn't want to believe this. He refused to believe that this had just taken place. He crawled onto his bed. He always hated the smell and the feel, but tonight he didn't mind.

-◊-

Tezuka started at the phone for several minutes. He hated himself at the moment for breaking up with Ryoma at this moment. He knew that his boyfriend needed the support of others and to leave him in that manner was not what he wanted to do. However, he had to in order to get Ryoma out of there for his own protection. He picked up the phone one more time before dialing a number that he normally would not. He listened to one ring before it was answered.

"Tezuka, I've been waiting for your call," he heard. He shuddered slightly. How had Atobe gotten his cell phone number? He didn't know. He certainly did not recall giving it to the diva. "I trust this means that you have broken up with Echizen?"

"Aa," he said.

"You never were one for words," Atobe said. He could envision the diva frowning at his lack of response. However, he didn't care at this moment. He waited for Atobe to continue to the conversation. "Then Ore-sama shall hold up my end of the bargain. Don't worry, your ex-boyfriend will be out of prison by the end of the week. Also, tomorrow you and Ore-sama are going out on a date after school practice."

_How can I not worry when there is a chance that something might happen to him between now and the time that he is released? You're stupid, Kunimitsu. He is going to hate you forever. You accepted Atobe's offer before you even knew if anything was real. How could you do such a thing to your boyfriend?_

"Kunimitsu?" he heard on the other line. "You didn't hang up on Ore-sama did you?"

"No, I'm here," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Without saying a proper good-bye, he hung up. Of course, he knew that Atobe would not be pleased, but he did not care at this point. He put his cell phone into silent so that he would not hear the hundreds of calls he was likely to receive from Atobe. He needed time to think and to sort out his thoughts. He should have thought through this deal more before accepting. He knew that Ryoma's mother was working hard to get her son free and he probably should have left these matters alone. However, he had seen those photos of his boyfriend being target in the jail. He couldn't sit back and let that happen.

_But you hurt him in the process. _

The thought would not get out of his head. He had hurt his boyfriend, the one person that he had chosen above all the others. He wanted the best for his boyfriend, but it still hurt Ryoma no matter what. Tezuka grabbed a jacket and headed down the stairs. There was no way that Ryoma would ever forgive him and he doubted that he could forgive himself for doing such a thing.

-◊-

The sound of alarms blaring and guards shouting brought Ryoma out of his unconscious state. Even though it had been a while since he had cried himself to sleep, he still felt drained and wanted to go back to bed. He was tempted to, but knew that they would punish him should he disobey their orders. He stood up and went over to the entrance of his cell and waited to be released. A guard opened his cell and pushed him toward the exit. His mind was racing. He had no idea what was going on at the time. He followed the group until they were in front of the building.

He watched as the inmates started to line up on the lawn and he had to wonder what they were going to do. There had been no instructions, just shouting to wake up. Much to his dismay, he found himself standing next to the person who had kissed him yesterday. Ryoma was never one to be intimidated by people. However, that was when they were playing tennis and he _knew_ that he was in control. Here, he was out of his element and could do nothing in order to prevent certain things from happening. He wanted to find another place in line, but changed his mind when he saw several guards approach them.

Silence fell over the group as they watched the guards inspect them. He heard a muttering about doing some drills after this. He could not help but wonder what those drills would entail. Of course he was used to rigorous training, but Ryoma had a feeling that this was nothing like the drills that he was used to. In fact, he knew that it would be nowhere the same compared to what he was used to. This was not going to go well, that much he could be sure of. He took a small glance at the person next to him. He shivered slightly when he caught sight of the others' face. He wanted to be as far away as possible from the guy. However, it would not be possible. One of the guards came in front of his face, scaring him slightly, but he did not show it. He was far more intimidated by the person next to him than the guards.

There was silence for a few moments before the guard moved on. He watched as everyone else was inspected. He knew that they were supposed to keep their clothes in a particular fashion and apparently he had passed their inspection. After a few more minutes, the guards started to shout instructions. By the way everyone was responding, they knew how they should act. He had no idea because he had never done these before. Of course, he managed to infer what he was supposed to do by their orders.

He should have really expected drills, considering that he knew that their philosophy was that through discipline criminals will be reformed. He had already thought that it was bad enough and to find out that there were other things that he did not know about was disturbing. He figured that he would get used to it after a while, but he did not want to stay there long enough to get used to the routine. He still barely knew what he did wrong. He did not know how long he would be stuck there. Or whether he could even be saved from doing time.

-◊-

Fuji eyed Tezuka at morning practice. He could tell something was wrong with their captain and he felt certain that it had to deal with Echizen. Syuusuke had tried to ask questions in regards to what was going on, but was brushed off with one excuse after another. He frowned. While he may be perceptive, he was not able to read what was on Tezuka's mind. He wanted to know what was the problem so that he could understand what was going on. He knew could assume that it was due to the fact that Ryoma was in prison, but that did not seem to be the source of Tezuka's frustration.

No, there was something else playing into that. He heard the sound of his opponent hitting the ball. Observation would have to wait until later because he had to keep a careful watch out for the person he was playing against. Even though he was confident in his abilities, he still had to be cautious, especially when playing against one of the Regulars. They were always coming up with new moves to separate them from the rest of the tennis players. Even though the match had been simple and routine for the time being, he still had to watch out.

He sighed. Ending the match would allow for him to watch Tezuka and gather information, but it would be tough because Kaidoh did not like to lose and would be persistent. He assumed that Inui had already formed several deductions as to what was bothering their captain. Of course, that was assuming that the data player had even noticed the slight change in Tezuka's personality. He chuckled for a moment before returning a ball. There was no doubt that Inui had noticed. After all, their captain had actually _yelled_ at a play for being sloppy in their movements and dealt out a hundred laps to that same person for being a nuisance. He laughed again as he remembered the look of shock on Horio's face when he heard the number of laps.

Fuji returned a ball, scoring a point. He needed just to win two more games in order to end the match. He hoped that this match would not take all of the rest of practice. He would not have many opportunities to talk to Tezuka about what was bothering him. Syuusuke forced himself to return his focus to the game for the time being. If he did not pay attention, he might as well throw the game away. He pondered the idea for a moment, it sounded appealing. By intentionally losing the game, he would be sure to get a lecture from Tezuka. He decided to put his plan into action, but make it look like he was still trying to win. Even though he knew that he could do a lot better, he would rather be able to figure out the problem in comparison to trying to corner their buchou.

Many people would call his methods unconventional, but he did not mind in the least. He would rather ascertain the truth of what was going on than watch their captain remain distracted. Fuji let another ball slip by him, he could've easily returned the shot. However, he wanted this to be over quickly. After a few more minutes, the game ended. He walked off the court, not even bothering to meet the eye of others, except Tezuka. He made his way over to the benches and waited to be approached by Tezuka. There was silence for a moment.

"You threw away the game," Tezuka stated. Fuji suppressed a chuckle.

"That's none of your business," Fuji said. "Besides, you're off as well. You allowed Oishi to score far more points than usual. So, what is wrong with you? It's obvious that something is bothering you as well."

"That's none of your business," Tezuka replied.

"What happened between you and Echizen?"

He saw their captain wince slightly. Fuji frowned. There was something more that Tezuka was not telling him.

_Perhaps he doesn't want me to know what is the matter between them because he knows that I care for Echizen as well._

"Echizen and I broke up," Tezuka whispered. Fuji stared at him.

"What?"

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter Two: Solitude

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis**

Lady Monozuki: I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. My life has interfered with my writing and there's a long explanation. I again apologize. Thanks to everyone for the reviews.

_Chapter Two: Solitude_

Fuji did not believe what he just heard. He thought that their captain was lying to him. He knew how much Tezuka was in love with the boy and he had to take a seat in the stand for their relationship.

"What did you say?" Fuji asked.

"I said that Echizen and I broke up," Tezuka replied.

Fuji frowned. He was happy to know that they had broken up. After all, they had fought about Ryoma over the past few months. However, he was angry at Tezuka for doing so. He had to know all of the details.

"We need to talk about this," he said in a low voice.

"I don't think we have anything to talk about,"

"I believe that we do. You know that I like Echizen and if you hurt him, I will personally do my best to make your life a living hell."

"Do what you want," Tezuka said. "However, if your behavior gets out of hand, I will kick you off the tennis team."

"So you did do something to hurt him," Fuji said. "Tell me what happened."

"It's none of your business."

Fuji gripped Tezuka's injured arm and squeezed as hard as he could. The stoic captain did nothing to retaliate.

"I will find out and you _will_ regret anything that you've done." He released his grip and walked off. They had several classes together and practice that afternoon, plenty of time to figure out what was going on with Tezuka. If that failed, he would have to use other means to get information. He would probably start with Hyotei's Atobe Keigo, who seemed to know everything about what went on in all of the rival schools. The diva passed it off as keeping track of his rivals, but Fuji knew better.

-◊-

Ryoma wiped sweat from his face with a towel. They had gone through their drills, but not without a lot of incidents that were, unfortunately, becoming a regular occurrence. Normally he would try to defend himself in some fashion, but it didn't matter today. His mind kept drifting back to the brief conversation he had with Kunimitsu

Now, it was time for lunch. The sooner the day ended, the sooner he could go back to his cell and cry. He did not feel like doing anything, but he had to or else the guards would hurt him. He stood in line, patiently to get his food. He felt someone bump into the back of him, but did not mind. On any normal day, he would have. Today, all he could think about was the moments where he and Kunimitsu were happy. They had never been through terrible arguments and he did not think of himself as a bad boyfriend. So then where did everything go wrong? Why had Kunimitsu broken up with him? What did he do in order to cause this?

_It has to be because I got sent to prison. There's no other reason why he would do something like that._

Even though he had decided that was the reason, he could not accept that. He wanted to know all of the reasons, but did not want to speak to Kunimitsu any time soon. He just wanted to get out of here to sort through this whole mess and try to understand what went wrong so he could finally move past this stage. Ryoma fought back tears thinking of this. He would not allow for himself to cry in front of other inmates. He was already having a hard enough time dealing with the inmates harassing him. He did not need to add this to his plate. He tried to think about what else they had left to do for the day. After lunch, they would clean the mess and then they would do their laundry. After that, they would be allowed some free time before doing more drills. He was not looking forward to doing any of the activities.

All of them had to be spent outside, with other people. He let out a sigh and moved up a position. The day seemed to be dragging on. He needed to do something that would take his mind off everything. Of course, playing tennis was out of the question so he would have to settle for running laps. He winced. All he could hear when he thought of laps was Kunimitsu ordering them to run more. He would have to find some other way to relax. Maybe he would take up playing basketball during the time. After all, the sport had been his passion before tennis. He had practically lived and breathed basketball, until he decided to quit. He shook his head. No, he wouldn't play that either. It brought upon too many bad memories of people who cheated in the game and it frustrated him to no end.

Ryoma stuck out his plate for food. He received his portion and moved on silently. He looked for a spot far away from everyone else, but found that there weren't many vacant places. He chose one at random and ate in silence. Of course, he knew that there were several people staring at him. He did not care though. He couldn't bring himself to care or even glare at them. He had lost everything that he was holding on to and he just wanted this nightmare to be over.

_I hope oyaji and 'kaa-san will come to get me soon. I didn't do anything wrong, they can't keep me here._

He had a feeling that he was wrong though. After all, they would not throw him in jail without good reason, right? They had a reason to put him here; he just had to accept that. It did not matter whether he knew he was innocent or not, he was stuck here until someone came to get him. Though right now, he didn't know what was worse, facing Kun-Tezuka or staying here. He did not want to deal with either of the current situations. Perhaps he could convince his parents to let him take a vacation after he got out of here. He wouldn't have to deal with anyone that way. However, he supposed that would be the coward's way of dealing with the issues.

As a tennis player, he was never one to back away from the challenge. He would not do the same now either. He just needed a little support, which he hoped to get from his family and friends. Still, he did not feel like calling any of his friends yet. Tonight, he would have a talk with his family and see how things were going. As long as they were able to provide him with some form of comfort, he could hold out a while longer. The problem was making it through until the evening in order to hear their voices

-◊-

Fuji quickly dialed the number to a certain diva. He had only heard the numbers in passing one time so they might not be accurate. Still, it was worth a shot to figure out what was going on between Tezuka and Ryoma. The phone rang and soon he heard that familiar voice that he hated.

"You reached Ore-sama's cell for peasants and unimportant people. You are speaking to Ore-sama himself, be awed by my generosity."

If Fuji wasn't desperate to know what the hell was going on, he would have hung. However, he refrained and instead tried to put his effort into not sounding as though he was ready to kill the person on the other line. He took in a breath before speaking.

"Hello Atobe-san, this is Fuji Syuusuke. I have a couple of questions that I'm sure you will be able to answer for me."

Whatever happened next, he was not expecting. It sounded as though Atobe had slipped out of his chair and dropped something that clattered loudly against the ground.

"How did you get Ore-sama's number?"

"Saa," he replied.

"What do you want from Ore-sama?"

"I want information, Atobe. I know that you have people that follow us everywhere in order to keep an eye on us for our protection because we associated with you. So, I know that you have information as to what I am about to ask you."

"W-What? H-how did you know Ore-sama sent guards to protect you?"

"I think it would be fairly obvious. After all, your name is worth quite a bit of money and kidnapping you would equate to higher ransom rates. Not to mention that your guards really don't know how to blend in here at Seigaku. You should really tell them that wearing sunglasses is not appropriate on a school campus and neither are the uniforms that you picked out for them. Believe me when I say that making them wear purple and white is not blending in with the crowd," Fuji finished, quite amused.

He could envision the look on Atobe's face, which only served to make him smile quite evilly. Oh how he loved to mess with people.

"What sort of information do you want from Ore-sama?"

"I want to know what happened between Tezuka and Echizen. Why did they break-up?"

"Break-up? Ore-sama knew nothing of this. I suppose this means that Tezuka is available, ahn?"

"Atobe," Fuji said coldly. He was not going to buy that innocent mask. "I am not one that is easily fooled. You of all people should know that by now." He imagined Atobe suppressing a shudder. "I know that you have information in regards to what happened and I believe that you stepped in for some reason, possibly for your own gain."

"Ore-sama does not know what you are talking about, this conversation is over."

He grinned. At least he knew that he had struck a nerve with Atobe. That meant that he was right about one thing; that Atobe was involved in all of this. While he may not know everything, he had two people that he had to plan for revenge. However, there were still several unanswered questions and he doubted that he would get any answers by conventional means. That meant that he would have o go to other sources and try to convince them to tell him secret information. Still, there was a chance that people knew. He knew that Tezuka would not tell anyone about the affairs of his love life. That meant that he would have to go to Atobe's school and try to coax the diva's teammates.

After all, Atobe lived to show off what he recently obtained. He was counting on that to be his weapon. He chuckled to himself just in time for the rest of the Regulars to come on the roof to join him. He gave them a smile, which caused them to freak out.

"Nya! Oishi, Fujiko's planning something!" Kikumaru shouted.

He stood and moved closer to Eiji, which caused him to shudder and hide behind Oishi. "Saa, I have no idea what you're talking about." He laughed again for effect before sitting back down to eat his lunch. He noticed that no one had bothered to sit next to him. That was fine, they could be scared of him if they wanted.

However, he was far more interested in one person, Tezuka. He noticed that the tennis captain was not there. He assumed this was because they did not need to argue in front of the rest of the team. After all, it would only cause tension and an awareness of the situation at hand. He didn't want anyone on the team to find out about the extra drama that was going on when they were already concerned with the fact that Echizen was in prison. In fact, they had all come up with their own elaborate stories on what their precious "Ochibi" did in order to earn himself some jail time. Fuji was not amused at this though. Because the real reason was unknown, it was not fair to assume that they knew everything about the situation. He just hoped that they were wrong, very wrong.

-◊-

Ryoma groaned a tried to ignore the headache that was now the source of his pain. He opened his eyes and found that he was in a dark room that he could not even make out the walls. The scent of urine assaulted his senses and he tried to block that out as well. He did not know where this was. It wasn't the familiar cell that he was growing used to. In fact, he did not even know what had occurred that would warrant him being in an unfamiliar place. He moved and gasped in pain. Everywhere was sore and every movement only made it worse.

He searched his memory and tried to recall what would cause him to feel this way. The exercises this morning were about as intense as the obstacle courses that Inui made them do and cleaning various parts of the prison was not something that he would count as strenuous. He had eaten lunch, cleaned the cafeteria, and then they went to do their laundry. His head throbbed, interrupting his thought process. He placed a hand on his head, delighting in the coolness that it brought, even if it was not much.

There was a small breeze in the room, which he guessed came from some sort of crack in the wall. He shivered slightly and turned so that his back as facing the draft. He could handle the cold, but did not like it. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain growing in his head. He had not been awake long, but was already wishing that he could just go back to sleep and have all the pain fade away. He suddenly remembered the event that had gotten him here.

_He was waiting for his close to be dry so that he could move away from here. That creepy guy that had kissed him yesterday was staring at him and he was slightly uncomfortable. Even if he was not able to go back to his cell right away, he would be grateful for even being near the guards so that the person could not do anything to harm him. He realized that the floor needed to be swept and that the guards would get after them if they did not keep the place tidy. He went to grab the broom, which required him to go into a dark room and fumble around for the object._

_It did not take him long to locate it. As he was heading out, he felt himself being pushed back. A hand covered his mouth and he shuddered. He had a feeling that he knew who it was._

"_You should keep a better guard up. You should know that half of the prison wants to make you their bitch. I'm just glad that I got to you first."_

_He struggled slightly against the hold. He could feel the grip in him tighten as it steered him until he was up against the wall. A hand immediately went down toward his privates and he tried even harder to break free._

"_What are you struggling for? I know that you broke up with your boyfriend. Isn't it time that you explored other possibilities."_

_Ryoma froze. How had he figured that out? He shuddered at the thought._ _He felt the hand move from his mouth and he was about to retort when he felt a pair of lips crash on his. It took until the end of the laundry session for the guards to realize that there were people missing. By then, Ryoma had wanted to die. As if that was not enough, the guards took them both down and beaten them for misbehaving and that they both needed to be in solitary confinement._

That explained why he was here. He shuddered and doubted that there would be any chance of him getting out this miserable place any time soon. As much as he loathed to admit it, he missed home and even the crazy antics of the Regulars. He just wished that he would be able to leave sooner rather than later. He had a feeling that the longer he was in here, the worse treatment was going to get and he did not want to endure that. He had a feeling that the bruises from being beaten would already take a toll on him. He tried to push the thoughts off and get some rest. He was going to need all that he could get since tomorrow brought another day of drills and such. He had to keep his strength up if he was even going to survive.

-◊-

Fuji frowned when he saw Tezuka pick up his phone during practice. He could tell from the body language that the usually stoic captain seemed irritated about something. He slowly moved closer so that he could overhear the conversation in order to prove his hypothesis that it was Atobe. However, he had to stop when Tezuka shot him a very angry look. He merely smiled and went to run laps, since that is what the look implied. He would figure it out; it was only a matter of time.

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter Three: Lost

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis**

Lady Monozuki: I apologize for not updating in a long while. Gomen! Thank you everyone for reading! Enjoy!

_Chapter Three: Lost_

Ryoma groaned, wishing that he could just fall back asleep so he would not have to suffer with the pain that tormented his entire body. He had only been here for a week and already, everything had gone wrong. What made it all worse was that he had no idea why he was even in here. He could not recall ever breaking the law. So what had he done to deserve this pain? He could not come up with an answer. It was frustrating that he had to suffer this and could do nothing in order to prove that he was innocent. He shifted slightly and let out a hiss.

Right now, he wanted to curl up on his bed and sleep the rest of the day away, not lie here in silent suffering in a cell that cut him off from the outside world. He could not call someone and the guards had left him food, but did not speak to him. He had barely managed to crawl toward the tray without throwing up. There was no one that he could rely on here and no one he could trust outside of his family to help him get this through this. There was no one who understood what he had been through in the small period of time he was in prison. Even if he could explain it to them, they would not be able to feel how much pain he was in.

All he could do was wait and hope that the day where he could get out of this hellhole would come soon. There was a very good chance that he might be in solitary confinement from now until his release. That was, if he was released. He hated to think on the negative side of things. However, he did not feel as though he had much hope to hold on to considering that he had been on the receiving end of everything bad. He tried to hold back tears. He thought that he could not cry anymore, but apparently he was wrong.

He hated feeling so pathetic and crying so much. It was so uncharacteristic of him. He was always a strong person on the tennis courts, but this was something that he did not know how to deal with. He was alone. It reminded him of the time when playing with Yukimura and he was robbed of all his senses. He was confused at first and had allowed himself to stumble. He overcame that though, but now…now, he was not so certain that he could.

--

Fuji looked at the person sitting across from him. He was silently thanking the gods that they had placed the one person he was certain he could pry information out of in front of him. What confused him, however, was the fact that he had ran into that person in front of the Echizen household. He wondered what business the "Great" Atobe Keigo had with the Echizens.

From the looks of things, though, he would soon find out. He let his smile grow. This was going to be interesting. It would only be a matter of time before the diva revealed what he was hiding. There were hundreds of scenarios floating through his mind as to how he could pry the information. He discarded most of them due to the fact that they required kidnapping the billionaire and he certainly did not want to spend the rest of his life in jail.

"You look happier than normal, Atobe."

"How would you know?"

"Because, you're smiling a lot more than usual," he commented. "Most of the time you strut around with a smirk on your face. However, you're smiling, which is an indication that you are extremely pleased about something that happened."

"Ore-sama do not know what you are talking about."

"Could this have anything to do with Tezuka ending his relationship with Echizen?" he pressed.

"Why do are you so eager to find out?"

_Interesting._

"You did not answer my question. However, I get the feeling that you did in your own way. Now, why are you at the Echizen's?"

"Ore-sama have something to do here. Why are you here?"

"I came by to see what progress has been made on getting Ryoma out of prison."

"Ore-sama am working on that. Don't worry, the brat will be released by the end of the week."

Fuji opened his eyes. Interesting, why would Atobe take an interest in this case? This was certainly news to him. He had to wonder why the diva would even bother. From what he understood, Echizen and Atobe were rivals. So why would Atobe even lift a finger to help the other?

Perhaps it was because Atobe did not want to lose an important rival? Or perhaps it was because there was another reason behind this gesture. Whatever the reason, he had a feeling that he was close to finding out. He smiled. He loved being right.

"So, why do you want to help Echizen get out of prison? I doubt it's for some noble cause as you would want others to believe."

"What are you hinting at?"

"I think it's fairly obvious that I am saying that you are only bothering to help because you are gaining something out of all of this."

"Be careful what you accuse people of. Some are not as forgiving as Ore-sama."

"Of course," he muttered. "I should be going. Give my best to Tezuka and tell him that I thought he was better than this."

_I won't forgive you, Tezuka. I backed off because I thought that you would take care of Ryoma. It seems as though I was wrong._

--

"I cannot do anything to stop Fuji from prying into our relationship, Atobe."

"Kunimitsu, we're together now, you can call me Keigo."

As true as that was, he could not bring himself to call Atobe by his first name. Not when he still felt so strongly about Ryoma, it was almost saying that Ryoma was no longer important to him. He would not do that, even if they were technically "over".

He sighed. Why did he throw it all away?

_It's too late now. He'll hate you forever._

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter Four: Freedom

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.**

Lady Monozuki: I finally finished this little arc. Now I can move on the the next one. Thank you to those who were patient with me. Thank you for reading/reviewing!

Chapter Four: Freedom

Icy water splashed over his form. He bolted upright and instantly regretted that action. His body was still sore and his head felt as though it was in competition with his body as to which could cause him the most pain. He looked up at the person who had woken him up. Two guards were staring down at him, making him feel uncomfortable.

"Get changed into new clothes. You have a meeting with a lawyer," a guard said.

He didn't say anything, but hurried to get ready. His mind was in a fuzzy state. He could barely remember what had happened yesterday, but he had the feeling that it had been a bad day. He changed his clothes, under the eyes of the two guards and once he was finished, they started to walk out of his cell. He followed behind them, careful not to get in their way. They took him through what felt like endless hallways before he was led into a small room. Inside were two more guards and a man dressed in a business suit. He didn't recognize the person, but he instantly didn't like the person. He sat down and waited for the lawyer to speak.

"Echizen Ryoma, is that right?"

"Hai," he replied in a soft tone.

"My name is Ichio Mizuri, but I don't expect that you recognize my name. I am the personal lawyer for the Atobe Cooperation and was sent here to submit the necessary documentation to get you out of jail."

"You work for Monkey King, then?" he asked.

The lawyer looked at him as though he was insane for a brief moment. "Who is Monkey King?"

"Atobe Keigo," he replied.

"Yes, it was by Atobe-bocchama's request that I be sent here in the first place. Now, I have reviewed your case and it seems that they made a very rushed decision in convicting you of the crime. I'd like you to tell me what happened that night."

Ryoma tried to recall the details, but his head was throbbing. All he could remember was the pain and that was it.

"Try to think about what you were doing before the incident. Start with the morning if you would like," the lawyer said.

"I had tennis practice that morning. Buchou made us run laps and Inui tried to kill off the tennis club with his concoctions. After we finished practice, I went to grab food with Momo-sempai. Then, he offered me a ride home, but I insisted on walking because I wanted to get more training done. I was running and went through town. I remember walking past the alley and then someone grabbed me. They pulled me in the alley and then hit me hard on the head, which made me dizzy. Then I remember more people coming and they had needles and said that they had just bought some 'good shit' and were going to inject me. I don't remember much after the needle went into my arm."

"So you have no recollection of them being murdered?"

"No," he replied. "I don't remember anything after that point."

"What did you do the next day?"

"I went to school and that's when the police arrested me."

"How have the guards been treating you here?"

Ryoma didn't say anything. He thought it should be fairly obvious, considering he knew that there were several bruises on his face. He honestly didn't know _how_ to answer the question in the presence of two guards.

"I'm alive, aren't I?"

Ichio chuckled. "That you are. Well, Echizen Ryoma, it was pleasant to meet you. I'm going to submit the case to the police and order for your immediate release."

"Where did you get this evidence?"

"Atobe-sama is very thorough in his work, especially when he makes a promise."

Without another word, Ichio walked out of the room. Ryoma, however, was more confused than ever. What the hell did that lawyer mean?

Fuji was present when the Echizens received a phone call, saying that their son would be released from prison in a few short hours. They were instructed to wait for another call to confirm his release from prison, along with a time to pick him up. He had planned on going home since he figured that there would be no further updates for a while, but stuck around because he wanted to see Ryoma. The Echizens were anxiously waiting by the phone and he was trying not to appear so eager to hear it ring.

However, he felt as though he was failing in that department since every time it rang, he would be by the device in an instant. Even if it wasn't his home, he still wanted to hear the news that he had been waiting so long to hear. The clock ticked by, there was no sign that Ryoma had been released from prison yet and he was growing impatient. Suddenly, his cell started to ring. He frowned and looked at the number.

"Excuse me," he said. He took it to another room before answering.

"What the hell do you want, Tezuka?" he snapped.

"have you heard anything about Ryoma?" Tezuka asked, not even bothering to address his rudeness.

"Yes, but I fail to see how that is your concern since you broke up with him. Also, I heard that you are now going out with Atobe. You move quickly, don't you?"

"Fuji, whom I date and break up with is none of your concern. However, I would like an update on Ryoma since he is my teammate and ex-boyfriend."

"You'll be pleased to know that he is going to be released in a couple of hours. I don't know all of the details, but at least he'll be out of that place."

He heard Tezuka let out a sigh of relief. Fuji wanted to ask what that was for, but knew that the stoic captain was just as concerned for Ryoma as the rest of the team. After all, they had all witnessed him being arrested and it wasn't something that happened every day.

"Well, that's a relief," Tezuka stated, even though it wasn't needed.

"Why did you break up with Ryoma?" Fuji asked. He was trying to get a straight answer from Tezuka, instead of making his own conclusions. Even though he was certain that he was right, he still wanted to be told otherwise. It was rather pathetic of him.

"It's none of your business. You can have him if you want."

This was unexpected. Tezuka was never one to give up on someone so easily. Most of all, Tezuka _never_ gave his permission to date someone.

"I don't need your permission."

"Just do me one favor," Tezuka said. "Don't break his heart."

"I'm not like you," he retorted.

Fuji hung up the phone, not wanting to talk to Tezuka any longer. The whole situation was weird, but he didn't care right now. All h e wanted to do was make sure that Ryoma was all right.

Ryoma was escorted straight to the mess hall for lunch after the meeting with the lawyer ended. He didn't want to be in the presences of anyone after what had happened. He had been in solitary confinement for a day and now he was being exposed back to the people who stared at him lustfully and it seemed worse after being alone for that one day. He was grateful that he only had to endure a few more hours of this before he was able to go back to his own home and rest comfortably there.

He took his food and sat at a mostly empty table. He noticed that the man who had raped him was not present, which was a huge relief for him. He was unsure of how he would react around that man if he saw him again.

_At least you won't have to ever see him after this. You won't have to worry about him or anyone trying to rape you._

Even still, he just hoped that he was able to survive the last few hours without another incident. The door to the mess hall opened. He looked up with all the other inmates to see who was being escorted in. His body started to shake as he recalled what had happened just a couple of days ago. Why, why did he have to face _that_ man again? Quickly, he averted his eyes back toward his food, which he was no longer hungry for and tried to block out the memories. As long as he could avoid that person for a while, everything would be fine.

Silently, he prayed that his lawyer was headed back to the prison to give him the good news that he had been released. However, he had the feeling that everything was not going to work out for him like he wanted. He finished his food and waited in line with all the other inmates who had finished. Once everyone was finished, they cleaned the dining room and then moved to the laundry room. He tried to keep his shaking to a minimum. However, the nausea kept getting worse the more time he spent in that room. It was the last place he wanted to be right now, but had to endure it.

_It's for the last time._

He kept repeating that in his head like a mantra. If he kept thinking it, he hoped that he would get his stomach to calm down. Ryoma noticed that the floor needed to be swept again, but there was no way in hell he was going to go back to the closet. Unfortunately, he happed to be the only idle prisoner and a guard shouted at him to sweep the floor. He tried to appear confident, but he could not shake the memories. He could feel the hands grabbing him, shoving him in and roaming his body.

The memory felt so real that he could not figure out what was real. He stumbled and ended up falling down. Someone grabbed him and dragged him behind one of the giant washers.

"Looks like I get to have you again."

He shivered. He recognized that voice anywhere.

"L-leave me alone!" he said.

Unfortunately, it did not come out as a shout like he wanted. A hand covered his mouth again and the mental replay of what had happened a few days before came flooding back. He tried to get away, but it was useless. He was hopeless in this situation, just like before.

The phone in the Echizen household rang. Echizen Nanjiroh picked up the phone and answered it without hesitation. The look on the former tennis pro's face shifted from grim to excited. Fuji hoped that meant that the waiting time was over. Once Echizen-san hung up the phone, he waited to hear the news.

"We can go pick up Ryoma now."

"Finally!" he chorused along with Echizen Rinko and Nanako Meino.

They wasted no time in getting in a vehicle and driving toward the nearby prison. Fuji could hardly wait to see Ryoma again. He idly wondered if Ryoma would be relieved to be out of prison and how he would react. He played various scenarios in his head, ranging from highly improbable to realistic. He barely noticed that they had come to a stop.

"Fuji-san, we're here."

He stepped out of the car, like Nanjiroh and Rinko had already done and waited. They watched as a small boy was led out of the prison, still in handcuffs. Fuji could instantly tell that it was Ryoma, but something was different. As the three people got closer, he noticed that there were bruises all over Ryoma's face and Ryoma's eyes were empty.

Something had happened.

~End~


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